'No pressure, i've just gotta stay on and WIN!' Those were my last words after the disappointment at Donington.
Well hold on tight because just when you thought things can only get better..... Not only did I not stay on but I didn't win either.
We had lousy weather for qualifying and I went out with wets on a drying track. I did one lap then I had a look behind and saw Lee Reveley there on his 1098 and figured he was as good a guide as any to how quick I was going, so I pushed on for a lap and looked behind again but couldn't see him at all. Chuffed with myself I carried on for one more lap then came in(the fast lap had not come easily and I didn't want to bin it so early in the weekend) To my suprise I was on pole and though the others did quite a few more laps no-one bettered my time.
The first race was an absolute disaster. The track had dried and we all turned up in the holding area with dry tyres on just as it started to rain. They postponed the race for 10 mins to give everyone a chance to change tyres most did just that but as it was not raining hard and the track was not sodden, I opted to stick with my slicks. BAD decision, the back of the circuit was alot wetter than the front and on the warm up lap it was obvious I was in deep trouble. I took the start but pulled in on the first lap. This was the first time i've ever voluntarily pulled out of a race.
Second race was dry but with no time on the bike on a dry track against the others that had done the Pro-bike/600 race I struggled and came home 4th behind Alistair Fagan, Marcus Wade and John Simpson. More points to Simpson after the non scoring first race.
Sunday started good with a dry track after heavy rain over night. I got away fairly well but John Simpson got a flyer from the second row to lead us into Quarry for the first time.
Over the line for the first lap I was 4th but holding my own with the two Triumphs of Wade and Simpson.
I could pull them in on the brakes but they tended to gap me on the exits from the chicanes as their bikes are alot more nimble.
On the 4th lap I made a mistake coming out of the last chicane on to the start/finish and got my self out of the seat which lost me time on the two in front.
I put my head down and pulled them back in within a lap and as we crossed the line to start the last lap I was right behind Simpson.
On the run up Avon Rise (flat out in 6th gear) I was very close and as we rolled the throttle and started braking for Quarry I got a false neutral.
As I was pretty much on the limit of the brakes anyway without the extra engine braking I couldn't slow it down enough to make the corner and had to run on over the grass. It was obvious that unless I ditched it, the bike and me were going to come back on the track the other side of the corner and possibly wipe out Wade and Simpson, so I had to lay it down.
It partially worked and the bike stopped short of the tarmac but I continued to roll and landed back on the track between the two of them.
Luckily they didn't hit me and I jumped to my feet a bit dazed but got out of the way of the others.
The bike faired better than me this time as I took a bad knock to my back and hip and also managed to put my teeth through the inside of my cheek which is making eating a little sore.
Luckily i'm a fat git and can afford to miss a few meals!!
Small consolation then that I went faster than the other two albeit by a couple of hundreths of a second.
Getting second back has just become a whole lot harder but roll on Snett.
Russell #45
